6. Shutting Down the Online Marketplace
Explicit content warning
11/14/18 • 43 min
A huge portion of the sex trade takes place online. Huge websites like Backpage and Craigslist used to offer a place where sex workers posted ads for their services. But these websites were also seen as a breeding ground for illegal trafficking. That’s why Congress passed legislation this year to hold websites accountable for posts related to prostitution. Politicians from both parties voted to pass a bill cracking down on online sex trade -- because how could you not want to help sex trafficking victims? The bill is called FOSTA/SESTA. But many sex workers see it differently. Noor heads to Capitol Hill for the first ever sex work lobby day and finds out that the people this law was meant to protect were never consulted before it passed -- and now say it's made their lives far more dangerous.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
A huge portion of the sex trade takes place online. Huge websites like Backpage and Craigslist used to offer a place where sex workers posted ads for their services. But these websites were also seen as a breeding ground for illegal trafficking. That’s why Congress passed legislation this year to hold websites accountable for posts related to prostitution. Politicians from both parties voted to pass a bill cracking down on online sex trade -- because how could you not want to help sex trafficking victims? The bill is called FOSTA/SESTA. But many sex workers see it differently. Noor heads to Capitol Hill for the first ever sex work lobby day and finds out that the people this law was meant to protect were never consulted before it passed -- and now say it's made their lives far more dangerous.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Previous Episode
5. Survival Sex
Noor meets Laya, a trans woman of color who became a sex worker after she was shut out from her family and job. It’s called survival sex -- sex work done purely to survive. What makes sex work dangerous for people like Laya is that she can’t report violent buyers to the police without fear of being arrested. Now, she’s trying to get a new law passed by the Washington, D.C. city council to decriminalize the buying and selling of sex. Is this the solution Noor has been searching for, or just a band-aid?
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
Next Episode
7. Finale - The Breeding Ground
Noor wraps up her journey focusing on the one area all sides of the sex trade debate can agree on -- kids. She meets Ashley Cacho, who was moved from one foster care home to another and started being trafficked at age 11. And she hangs out with a group of kids who tell her about the risks they face ending up in the sex trade when they run away or are homeless for even one night. And Noor finds the answer to sex trafficking has nothing to do with sex.
You can hear ad-free episodes of Sold in America only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of premium, go to stitcherpremium.com and use promo code 'AMERICA'.
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